12345Michael543

I'm thinking of buying a comfort/hybrid bike. Most of my riding will be 10-20 mile rides along Maryland's Northern Central Railroad (NCR) Trail, which happens to be about 1.5 miles from my front door. I have no real interest in mountain biking, or doing century rides, or anything like that. (These things are perfectly fine if you like them, but they're not what interests me.) I'm convinced that for my purposes, a hybrid/comfort bike is the way to go.

I'm 45 years old, and weigh right around 270 lbs. (Hey, I'm down 65 lbs. from where I was last summer, when I first decided I had to start eating right and getting some exercise, so it's progress, okay?) I mention this, as it occurs to me that the right bike for an overweight middle aged guy who wants to take a 60 or 90 minute ride along an easy trail, might not be the right bike for a 130 lb. teenager who'd like to do a little racing on occasion.

My budget for the bike (not counting helmet, pump, and trunk rack for my car) is under $300. And I'm willing to buy a used bike, and do keep an eye on craigslist, but my question is mostly about two new bikes I've come across - a Gazelle Dutch and a Schwinn Voyageur GS. The Gazelle is a 2008 model, and the Schwinn is a 2007, but both are new.

The Gazelle in particular impresses me as being a good choice, and it comes in under my budget ceiling (albeit, at a price a few bucks more than the Schwinn). But unlike Schwinn - which is at least a name I've heard of since I was a kid - I know absolutely nothing about the Gazelle, aside from the fact that it's more popular in Europe than in the US. I haven't had much luck finding multiple, in-depth reviews of this model, so I don't know if this is regarded as a fantastic bike which is way underpriced in the US, or a piece of junk that ought to be selling for $69.97 at Walmart.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

aRoudy1

I don't know anything about the Gazelle but I've had a Schwinn Voyageur GS for a bit over a year now. I use it on roads and the gravel covered John Wayne Trail. I've found it to be a good bike and the LBS gives me great service.

DallasSoxFan

I've got the Gazelle Dutch 19". While I don't have that much mileage (just over 300 since June) it has been rock solid. Pretty comfortable (I wish the handlebars came up more, but I'm a circus freak - 6' 2" with a 31" inseam).

Amazing value for the money; I got mine for $199 at cycle spectrum with free service for life.

Nightshade

There can be no question here which is the better bike.....The Gazelle!!